Powerball in the UK explained

Powerball is an American multi-state game that became available in the UK in July 2026. The draw happens in the United States, the prize fund is American, and the UK operator sells entries into it. Almost everything unusual about the game follows from that.

Draw times are the first surprise

Draws take place at 10.59pm Eastern Time on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. In UK time that is 3.59am the following morning during British Summer Time and 2.59am when the clocks differ, so a Saturday US draw appears here as an early Sunday morning result. Entries close at 11.55pm UK time the evening before the draw.

Our schedule and draw pages always show the UK time and label the correct UK date, and the times are anchored to the American timezone so they stay right through both countries' clock changes. UK draws have their own numbering, starting at draw 1 on 23 July 2026.

The advertised jackpot is an annuity figure

The headline number is what you receive if the prize is paid over 30 years, not what lands in an account. In the UK the structure is:

• A first payment of either 1 or 2 per cent of the jackpot fund, and the winner chooses which.
• The rest buys a 29-year annuity contract, with payments that step up each year.
• The first annuity instalment arrives about a year after the first payment.
• Once the contract is set up it cannot be changed, cancelled or cashed in.

There is no general lump-sum option, unlike in the United States. Four exceptions exist: a winner not resident in the UK or the Isle of Man on the claim date, a syndicate of more than 35 people, a claim by the estate of a winner who has died, and cases where the operator cannot arrange an annuity. A lump sum is always lower than the advertised jackpot, because that figure includes 29 years of investment growth. Our annuity calculator puts real numbers on the difference.

Tax and privacy differ from other UK games

Because the fund comes from the United States, US withholding tax may be deducted before the money reaches you. The capital element of each annuity payment is generally tax free in the UK and the interest element is not. Claiming also means accepting that your identity and personal data can be shared with the American organisation that holds the fund, the broker and the annuity provider, potentially outside the UK — see going public or staying anonymous.

Claiming

Large Powerball claims require at least two in-person meetings in the UK, a claim form and US tax forms. Details are on our Powerball rules page, and the general bands are in how to claim a prize.